Herbert Müller (racing driver)
Herbert Müller (born May 11, 1940 in Menziken , Switzerland; † May 24, 1981 on the Nürburgring ) was a Swiss car and motorcycle racing driver .
Life and sports career
Herbert Müller was the oldest of three children of Arthur and Gertrud Müller in Menziken in Aargau. After attending schools in his home town and in Reinach AG as well as a one-year language stay in Montreux , he did an apprenticeship as a galvanizer in his parents' metal processing company in Reinach. After completing his military service in 1960, he married; In 1961 the son was born. In 1960 he drove his first Formula 3 race in Ollon-Villars with the support of his father and finished fourth. The car was a Cooper-Norton. He had his first racing experience on a motorcycle. He started in Formula 1 at the Pau Grand Prix in 1963, but then concentrated on sports cars.
When his father died in 1964, Herbert Müller took over the business, which he expanded into a car dealership. First he operated a sales point for AC Cobra, Ferrari and Lamborghini, before taking over a BMW dealership in 1970 and VW in 1976. In 1968 he rebuilt the business premises and expanded it to include the car dealership.
After taking over the company, Müller called himself a racing driver “professional amateur” who looked after the business and his family as well as his sports career. He turned down works contracts with Ferrari and Porsche and continued to drive for the Swiss Scuderia Filipinetti , from which he parted in 1970. Then he founded his own team. He also drove for other private teams and occasionally for Porsche.
First place at the Targa Florio in 1966 with Willy Mairesse in a Scuderia Filipinetti Porsche 906 was his first major victory. He repeated it in 1973 with Gijs van Lennep on a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR. Many more victories followed in important races, Müller was champion of the Interserie in 1974 in a Porsche 917/30 , in 1975 in a Porsche 917/30 and Porsche 908/3 Turbo and in 1976 in a Sauber C5-BMW. From 1977 Herbert Müller only drove a few races in various sports and GT cars, mainly in long-distance races.
Müller was also successful in hill climbs. In 1963 and 1965 he was able to win the European Hill Climb Championship for GT vehicles.
Müller often achieved remarkable things during his racing career; for example at the 1967 Targa Florio , when he drove the fastest race lap in a Ferrari 412P with 37: 09: 000 minutes or 116.285 km / h. Also for his race to catch up at the Targa Florio 1969, in which he overtook 65 competitors on his first lap with the heavy and fully fueled Lola T 70 and drove almost the fastest times, such as the leading Porsche 908/2 from Gerhard Mitter / Udo Schütz , made him a crowd favorite.
At the start of the inter-series race at the Nürburgring in 1972, Müller had a serious accident and burned his hands, feet and face. A competitor's car turned sideways, rammed Müller's Ferrari, which overturned, hit the guardrail and caught fire. After about 15 seconds he was able to free himself from the car and run away, burning; Firefighters smothered the flames.
On May 24, 1981, Müller was killed in the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring . In the Kesselchen section (between km 11 and 12), his Porsche 908/3 crashed into Bobby Rahal's Porsche 935 , which was parked next to the runway and was almost full of fuel . Both cars went up in flames and Müller was burned in his vehicle. It is believed that he was seriously injured in the impact as he did not appear to attempt to free himself from the vehicle. Doctors later confirmed the assumption that the time of death was during the impact. Before the start of the race, Müller is said to have said that he wanted to end his career with this race.
Successes (selection)
- 1966: Monza 1000 km race - 3rd place
- 1966: Targa Florio - 1st place
- 1971: Le Mans 24 Hours - 2nd place
- 1973: Targa Florio - 1st place
- 1974: Le Mans 24 Hours - 2nd place
- 1974: Watkins Glen 6 Hours - 2nd place
- 1975: 1000 km race on the Nürburgring - 3rd place, together with Leo Kinnunen in a Porsche 908/3
statistics
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 |
 Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Porsche 904/4 GTS |
 Jean Sage
|
Rank 11 | ||
| 1965 |
Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ford GT40 |
 Ronnie Bucknam
|
failure | overheated cylinder | |
| 1966 |
Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ferrari 365P2 |
 Willy Mairesse
|
failure | Gearbox damage | |
| 1967 |
Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ferrari 412P |
Jean Guichet
|
failure | Piston damage | |
| 1968 |
Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ferrari 250LM |
 Jonathan Williams
|
failure | Wheel bearing damage | |
| 1969 |
Equipe Matra Elf
|
Matra MS630 / 650 |
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
|
failure | Electrics | |
| 1970 |
Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ferrari 512S |
Mike Parkes
|
failure | accident | |
| 1971 |
John Wyer Automotive
|
Porsche 917 |
Richard Attwood
|
Rank 2 | ||
| 1972 |
 Escuderia Monntjuich
|
De Tomaso Pantera |
Cox cooker
|
failure | Cylinder overheated | |
| 1973 |
 Martini Racing Team
|
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR |
 Gijs van Lennep
|
Rank 4 | ||
| 1974 |
Martini Racing Team
|
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR |
Gijs van Lennep
|
Rank 2 | ||
| 1978 |
Haberthur Meccarillos Racing
|
Porsche 935/76 |
Claude Haldi
|
Nick McGranger
|
failure | Gearbox damage |
| 1979 |
Lubrifilm Racing Team
|
Porsche 934 |
Angelo Pallavicini
|
Marco Vanoli
|
4th place and class win |
Sebring results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 |
Scuderia Filipinetti
|
Ferrari Dino 206S |
Günter Klass
|
failure | suspension |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
.svg){kind=small}
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Herbert Müller - Curriculum Vitae ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , published by Daniel Müller, accessed May 20, 2015.
- ↑ a b CV of Herbert Müller . Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ↑ a b c Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch: Rennfahrertod . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2012, ISBN 978-3-86852-494-9 .
- ↑ Motorsport info: 1000km race Nürburgring 1981
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Müller, Herbert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss car and motorcycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Menziken , Switzerland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 24, 1981 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Nürburgring |